The commerce of the United States cannot exist today at any reasonable level without the long haul trucking industry, which is the cornerstone of American industry. Countless different products are loaded on trailers of different types and transported all over the country.
Truckers generally use straps, ropes and chains to secure a load to the beds of truck trailers depending ont he particular load. The straps, ropes and chains are generally used to secure the load to the bed of the trailer by placing them over the load and then securing them on each side to the trailer. The straps, ropes and chains are generally secured to the trailer through a winch or rachet mechanism, which must generally be turned or cranked to tighten the strap and secure the load.
In order to sufficiently tighten the winch or rachet mechanism, most, if not all truckers, carry what is generally referred to in the industry as a cheater bar. A cheater bar is very generally a finger lever attached to a bar or rod handle. The finger member is used to engage a winch or rachet mechanism and the lever arm attached to the finger is used as the lever. The trucker grabs the lever and imparts a force thereon to rotate the rachet and consequently to tighten the straps for instance. An example of a non-adjustable cheater bar is shown in FIG. 10, showing the handle portion 40 and the finger segment 41.
FIG. 1 illustrates a trucker 1 next to a truck trailer 2 carrying a load 3. In this example, a retaining strap 4 has been placed over the load 3 and through the ratchet mechanism 5.
In order to sufficiently tighten the strap 4 and secure the load 3, a cheater bar 6 is used. The cheater bar 6 in FIG. 1 includes a cheater bar second body member 8 and a cheater bar finger segment 7. The ratchet mechanism 5 has a finger recipient 5a into which the finger 7 of the cheater bar can be inserted. Once the finger 7 of the cheater bar is inserted, the trucker 1 can impart a force on the handle of the cheater bar, typically downward, to tighten the strap 4.
As the ratchet mechanism 5 is rotated, thereby tightening the strap 4, it has a ratcheting and locking mechanism which prevents it from rotating the opposite direction and thereby loosening the strap. In order to engage the locking mechanism however, the ratchet mechanism 5 must generally be rotated a certain minimum rotation, resulting in significant pressure just before the rotational lock portion of the ratchet mechanism 5 engages to prevent rotation. The failure to rotate the ratchet mechanism 5 that certain minimum rotation to engage the lock portion of the ratchet mechanism 5 coupled with a release of pressure by the trucker 1, may result in a backlash in which the tension built up in the cheater bar 6 through the partial rotation is released, thereby catapulting the cheater bar 6 upward and sometimes resulting in injury to the trucker 1.
In a typical situation and depending on the size and height of the trucker, the cheater bar 6 must generally be placed in a position which is very difficult to reach and difficult to impart as much a force as necessary to sufficiently tighten the strap. Often times the necessary position of the cheater bar is above a level wherein the trucker is comfortable and safe in imparting a force on the cheater bar. This also results in numerous injuries to truckers each year.
FIG. 10 illustrates a prior art cheater bar with a finger segment 41 attached to a handle segment 40. The prior art cheater bar is not extendible and the finger segment is generally welded to the handle segment.
Also in the trucking industry, it is necessary to carry substantial tools and equipment for use on the truck, the trailer and to handle loads, with only limited space in which to store the tools and equipment. Therefore truckers are generally very conscious about the size and shape of items before choosing to bring them along on a trip. The utility of the item is generally weighed with the limited available space in which to carry the tools and equipment.
Due to the limited space requirement within which to store the cheater bars, they have heretofore generally been limited approximately three (3) feet in length, which allows them to fit in typical storage compartments on the truck. With the substantial force that must typically be placed on the cheater bars to sufficiently secure some loads and the awkward position the trucker must oftentimes place himself or herself in order to rotate the cheater bar, a three feet handle is an insufficient lever arm length for most truckers to safely and easily tighten the winches or rachet mechanisms. Furthermore, because placing sufficient force on the cheater bar is difficult even under the best of situations, accidents occur wherein the cheater bar recoils and strikes a blow to the trucker attempting to tighten the load.
There has been a long felt need for a sufficiently rugged cheater bar which can fit within the three feet space limitation, but which also allows the trucker to more easily impart a greater force to tighten the winch. There has not heretofore been a cheater bar which fulfills this longfelt need.
It is an object of this invention to provide a cheater bar which allows the trucker to impart an increased rotational force on the ratchet mechanism without placing the trucker in further danger of injury. It is a further object of this invention to reduce the number and severity of cheater bar related injuries in the trucking industry.
It is still further an object of this invention to provide an expandable and retractable cheater bar which retracts down to three feet or less and which expands to lengths greater than three feet and preferably to five feet or more, while maintaining its structural integrity and necessary ruggedness.
This invention achieves the sufficient ruggedness by providing mating threads, i.e. external threads on the external surface of the first body member and corresponding internal threads on the interior surface of the exterior second body member.